Gospel for Saturday, 5th Week of Lent

From: John 11:45-56

The Sanhedrin Decides on the Death of Jesus
[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary (Magdalene) and had seen what He (Jesus) did, believed in Him; [46] but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, "What are we to do? For this Man performs many signs. [48] If we let Him go on thus, every one will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation." [49] But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all; [50] you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." [51] He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, [52] and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. [53] So from that day on they took counsel on how to put Him to death.

[54] Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

[55] Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. [56] They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That He will not come to the feast?"
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Commentary:
45-48. Once again, as Simeon had predicted, Jesus is a sign of contradiction (cf. Luke 2:34; John 7:12, 31, 40; 9:16; etc.): presented with the miracle of the raising of Lazarus some people believe in Jesus (verse 45), and some denounce Him to His enemies (cf. verses 46-47)--confirming what is said in the parable of the rich man: "neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

"Our (holy) place": this __expression or similar expressions such as "the place", "this place", was used to designate the temple, the holy place "par excellence" and, by extension, all the Holy City of Jerusalem (cf. Maccabees 5:19; Acts 6:14).

49-53. Caiaphas held the high priesthood from the year 18 to the year 36 A.D. (cf. "The Dates of the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ" in "The Navarre Bible: St. Mark", p. 49). Caiaphas was the instrument God used to prophesy the redemptive death of the Savior, for it was one of the functions of the high priest to consult God on how to lead the people (cf. Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 23:9; 30:7-8). Here Caiaphas' words have a dual meaning: one, Caiaphas' meaning, is that he wants to put Christ to death, on the pretext that that will ensure the political peace and survival of Israel; the other, the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit, is the announcement of the foundation of the new Israel, the Church, through the death of Christ on the Cross (Caiaphas is unaware of this meaning). And so it happens that the last high priest of the Old Alliance prophesies the investiture of the High Priest of the New Alliance, which will be sealed in His own blood.

When the Evangelist states that Christ was going to die "to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (verse 52), he is referring to what our Lord had said regarding the salvific effects of His death (cf. John 10:14-15). The prophets had already announced the future assembly of Israelites faithful to God to form the new people of Israel (cf. Isaiah 43:5; Jeremiah 23:3-5; Ezekiel 34:23; 37:21-24). These prophecies are fulfilled by the death of Christ, who, on being raised up on the cross, draws and gathers together the true people of God, composed of all believers, whether Israelites or not. The Second Vatican Council uses this passage as a source when speaking of the universality of the Church: "All men are called to belong to the new people of God. This people therefore, whilst remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the design of God's will may be fulfilled: He made human nature one in the beginning and decreed that all His children who were scattered should be finally gathered together as one (cf. John 11:52). It was for this purpose that God sent His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things (cf. Hebrews 1:2), that He might be teacher, king and priest of all, the head of the new and universal people of God's sons" ("Lumen Gentium", 13).

In the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom explained the catholicity of the Church using these words: "What is the meaning of `to gather into one those who are scattered abroad'? He made them one body. He who dwells in Rome knows that the Christians of India are his members" ("Hom. on St. John", 65, 1).

54. The time for Him to die has not yet arrived; therefore Jesus acts prudently, taking the steps anyone would take not to precipitate events.

55. Since the Passover was the most solemn Jewish feast, the people used to arrive in Jerusalem some days in advance to prepare for it by washings, fasts and offerings--practices established not by the Mosaic law but by popular piety; the rites of the Passover itself, with the sacrificing of the lamb, were a rite of purification and expiation for sins. The Passover of the Jews was a figure of the Christian Pasch or Easter, for, as St. Paul the Apostle teaches us, our paschal lamb is Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7), who offered Himself once and for all to the eternal Father on the cross to atone for our sins. (Pope) Paul VI recalled this happy truth of faith: "Gave Himself for me? But does there still exist a religion which is expressed in sacrifices? No, the sacrifices of the ancient law and pagan religions have no longer any reason to exist; but the world always needs a sacrifice, a valid, unique and perennial one, for the redemption of human sin [...]; it is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which wipes out sin from the world; a sacrifice which the Eucharist actualizes in time and makes it possible for the men of this earth to take part in it" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Homily on Corpus Christ", 17 June 1976).

If the Jews prepared to celebrate the Passover with all these rites and ablutions, it is obvious what steps we should take to celebrate or participate in the Mass and to receive Christ--our Pasch--in the Eucharist. "On this earth, when we receive an important person, we bring out the best--lights, music, formal dress. How should we prepare to receive Christ into our soul? Have we ever thought about how we should behave if we could only receive Him once in a lifetime?" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 91).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

Blind Obedience is NOT a Virtue

By Mary Ann Kreitzer:

The latest issue of Christifidelis, from the St. Joseph Foundation, is out and it's a corker! The lead article by Philip Gray, J.C.L. is a great discussion on what obedience is and when a person is required to obey a lawful authority. Obedience is a subset of the cardinal virtue of justice which requires us to give to God and neighbor what is due to them. We owe absolute obedience to God, so all other laws are subservient to and subject to God's laws. When there's a conflict between God's law and a lower law, guess what we have to do? "We must obey the higher [law] lest we sin."

There are limits on human authority. "Directives that violate divine law must be ignored, and in many circumstances we have an obligation to resist them actively." Gray gives China's forced abortion laws as an example...

Continued here

The Paradox of Liberty

There is a paradox at the heart of liberty, a tension between our desiring what is good and our willingness to sacrifice true happiness for fleeting satisfaction. “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,” abolitionist Wendell Phillips said. Lord Acton echoed the idea, calling liberty, “the delicate fruit of a mature civilization.”...

Continued at Catholic Exchange here.

Dr Edward Peters: Beyond parody-a priest wearing a Nazi arm-band

Dr Peters writes:

The stunt pulled by a priest who was recently pictured outside a Catholic Church sporting a Nazi swastika armband is beneath contempt. But is the only response available to us expression of derision for his behavior? Maybe not.

Read more here: http://www.canonlaw.info/2009/04/beyond-parody-priest-wearing-nazi-arm.html

Missouri House Votes to Protect Women and Unborn Babies from Forced Abortion

From Missouri Right to Life:

Today, the Missouri House of Representatives gave first round approval to a pro-life bill, HB 46 & 434, that will make sure that a woman is offered, 24 hours before undergoing an abortion, the opportunity to view an ultrasound, that she is given information about the development of the baby in her womb and that she understands that no one can force, threaten or coerce her into having an abortion; and that she will be given information on alternatives to abortion.

"We thank all the House Members that voted to move this primary piece of legislation for Missouri Right to Life forward in order to get this protection for women and their babies in statute as quickly as possible. We expect the final vote in the House next week which will then move the bill to the Senate for approval," said Pam Fichter, President, Missouri Right to Life

3,000 Emails Needed to get Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq., Interview on EWTN re: Birth Certificate

It has just been posted on The Patriotic Resistance that Mr. Raymond Arroyo will interview Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq., regarding case pending in the United States Supreme Court challenging Obama's Natural Born Citizenship on his show The World Over on EWTN if he receives enough email requests...

Check it out here.

NCR, Others, Aflicted with "Cappaphobia" ?

National Catholic Reporter posts another of its caustic diatribes against Archbishop Burke comparing him to Bull Connor.

Every Catholic bishop in the United States today faces the daunting challenge of ministering to a church that is divided, one in which faithful members are often suspicious of authority, and in which younger Catholics are either dismissive of authority or altogether missing from the pews.

If the Church is divided, it is clearly a result of a cacophony of dissenting voices like those of the "Distorter," and its like minded pseudo-Catholics and unfaithful priests and bishops who either support them or fail to address the rebellious movements.

To claim that these rebels represent "faithful members" who are "often suspicious of authority" is to obscure the real truth. These are members who openly rebel against a myriad of doctrines and disciplines and who engage others to join in their rebellion.

This is a mutinous lot seeking to assume command of the ship, though, because of their debilitating mental disorders, would not even qualify as galley slaves.

A recents article, "Cappaphobia: mental disorder afflicting progressive Catholics," confirms what we have long suspected about the psychological well-being of our dissenting brothers and sisters. Let's read more of the NCR Editorial hit-piece which confirms our suspicions of cappaphobia:

Burke, a champion of traditionalists throughout the country, worked tirelessly to put in place a vision of a kind of retro-church, heavy on the use of Latin and anachronistic royal role play including elaborate capes, canopies and attendants.

How many times have we witnessed, right here on this blog, the derisive comments about the archbishop's cappa magna? Cappaphobia must be one of the explanations - that, or a sick, deep hatred or rejection of ecclesiastical authority, as confirmed by NCR and others:

...Burke brought a distinctive model to bear: He met dissenters with canon law and excommunications.

This is, in fact, an outright falsehood. Dissent, disobedience and rebellion still exist in the archdiocese - very few have been excommunicated and they brought on the penalties themselves by acts of schism. In fact, Archbishop Burke always, as the true spiritual father he is, tried to meet dissenters with prayer and compassion. But why should NCR let the truth get in the way of its propaganda. It serves, not the Church or the truth, but the father of lies.

Burke has been one of the most polarizing figures in the history of the St. Louis archdiocese and leaves St. Louis with many victims in his wake, the last being a dedicated and caring Sister of Charity, Louise Lears...

Here it comes again - it's a hanky moment...Let us ask to whom Lears was "dedicated." Was she dedicated to Christ and His Church, or to some other messiah and some other church?

The answer is obvious by her rejection of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and her support for priestettes. She may have been dedicated to her fellow dissenters at St Cronan's and other "cappaphobics."

And let's be clear - it was not Archbishop Burke who was the "polarizing figure." To assert this claim as fact indicates a willful blindness to the truth. The polarizing figures are those so-called Catholics who publicly and obstinantly thumbed their noses or raised their middle fingers to the Church, Archbishop Burke, their fellow Catholic brothers and sisters, or the unborn, or others - these are the "polarizing" ones. They disrupt the unity of the Church, bringing division with them.

The fact that Archbishop Burke dealt with rebellion as he did gave faithful Catholics a sense of hope that bishops can be like the Apostles and that the demise of dissent might be on the horizon.

My prayer for those professed Catholics suffering from cappaphobia or other disorders and who reject fidelity as outmoded and pre-Vatican II, is to be blessed by more bishops like Archbishop Burke - a faithful and fearless shepherd who knows where to lead his flock, and who protects the flock from the many ravenous wolves claiming to be Catholic.

To see a number of pictures of the Cappa Magna, some with Archbishop Burke, check it this website.

of the article here

Will I ever awake from this nightmare?

The legal status of "personhood" is denied by the irrational for unborn babies so that they can be murdered at will for the sake of convenience or body parts, yet...

European Court agrees to hear chimp's plea for human rights...

From Gallup: Bishop's photos prove elusive

Police snapshots of Pelotte’s injuries still being kept from public

GALLUP — McKinley County’s senior District Court Judge, Grant L. Foutz, is now presiding over part of the legal battle concerning police photographs taken of Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Pelotte. The first judge in the case, Louis E. DePauli Jr., is out.

According to the court files, other than the change in judges, not much new has happened since one of the defendants in the original civil case, a television reporter from Albuquerque, filed a civil complaint against the original plaintiff, the city of Gallup....

Nothing here to see folks, now just move along...

HB 1804 author blasts bishop's position

In a followup from a report yesterday:

State Rep. Randy Terrill questions the motivation for the support of illegal immigrants.

The chief author of the state's new immigration law took issue Wednesday with a leading Oklahoma clergyman who called the law unjust and immoral.

Roman Catholic Bishop Ed ward J. Slattery of the Tulsa Diocese this week blasted House Bill 1804 in a 22-page pastoral letter, only his second such letter in 14 years as a bishop....

Terrill said HB 1804 does not criminalize help given to illegal immigrants for purely humanitarian, charitable or religious purposes....

HB 1804 cuts off public assistance to illegal immigrants, and so it threatens the work of Catholic Charities.

"Some in the Catholic hierarchy confuse private charity with public charity," Terrill said. "I'm curious what he (the bishop) finds immoral or unjust. It's neither righteous nor just to provide tax money to illegal aliens; it's just plain wrong. The state shouldn't be in the business of subsidizing illegal aliens. If the church wants to do that, fine, but it shouldn't be using taxpayer money...."

This newest article is here.

Funeral Prompts Forced Resignation of Priest

Baltimore's new Roman Catholic archbishop removed a priest who was pastor of three South Baltimore parishes for offenses that include officiating at a funeral Mass with an Episcopal priest, which violates canon law.

Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien personally ordered the Rev. Ray Martin, who has led the Catholic Community of South Baltimore for five years, to resign from the three churches and sign a statement yesterday apologizing for "bringing scandal to the church."

Martin led the funeral Mass on Oct. 15 for Locust Point activist Ann Shirley Doda at Our Lady of Good Counsel with several clergy, including the Rev. Annette Chappell, the pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Redemption in Locust Point, Martin said.

Do people no longer use their God-given intellects anymore? What was this priest thinking?

Sean Caine, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said this was one example of repeated administrative and liturgical offenses Martin had committed in more than a year...

Figures...another advocate of the "Do-it-yourself" Mass...

Chappell did not participate in the consecration of the Eucharist but read the Gospel at the service, Martin said. Someone at the service reported to the archdiocese that Martin gestured to Chappell to take Communion, though Martin said he did not recall doing so...

Martin, who has not been defrocked, said he has been barred from celebrating Mass publicly. He will go on an extended retreat and counseling at a monastery in Latrobe, Pa., he said.

Good for Archbishop O'Brien! No doubt, he will be subjected to ridicule from those who understand little, if anything, about the Holy Mass or about the Catholic faith - and this unfortunately includes some Catholics.

The statement Martin signed will be read at weekend Masses at the community's three parishes, Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Mary's Star of the Sea and Holy Cross parishes, Martin said...

"What, are we in the Dark Ages again? This is absolutely ridiculous," [said Joyce Bauerle, a longtime friend of Shirley Doda.]

Decades of catechetical failure may be one of the reasons for such ignorance. It could also be due to an attitude of dissent, especially considering the pries was admonished before and gave such a bad example when it came to liturgical necessities...

Federal Court: Druggists May Deny Emergency Pill

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has suspended Washington state's requirement that pharmacists sell "morning-after" birth control pills, a victory for druggists who claim their moral objections to the drug are being bulldozed by the government.

In an injunction signed Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton said pharmacists can refuse to sell the morning-after pill if they refer the customer to another nearby source. Pharmacists' employers also are protected by the order...

Let us pray that this is more than just a temporary reprieve from the tyranny and persecution that the pro-death advocates wish to impose on others...

HLI Condemns Action of NJ Governor and State Senator as ‘Tyranny’

From a Press Release from Human Life International:

FRONT ROYAL, VA — The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, STL, president of Human Life International, (HLI) today said, “When a state rejects the protection of individual consciences, that state loses its soul.”

Father Euteneuer was commenting on a New Jersey law sponsored by state Senator Joseph Vitale and signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine that effectively forces pharmacists in that state to violate their consciences by filling prescriptions for abortifacient—abortion-causing—contraception...

Day by day, we seem to fall further into an abyss of totalitarianism, where an individual's true freedom is rejected by the state and politicians suffer from illusions of grandeur and power.

Religious persecution of the state, taking the form of coercion under duress, is just one of a number of attempts to impose paganism and tyranny among those who have a sense of moral decency and obligation. The only difference, as I see it, between pagan Rome and a pagan America is that currently the state or federal government does not yet deprive Christians of life - only liberty and livelihood...But this, too, could change - if history is any indicator.

Read HLI's Press Release here.

Oregon Officials Won’t Allow Petition On Constitutional Amendment To End Abortion

And the Thomas More Law Center has filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Secretary of State and the Attorney General, alleging they improperly denied a citizen’s request to circulate a state initiative petition that would amend the Oregon Constitution to end abortion in that state.

More here.

Bp. Trautman issues his own norms for the older form of Mass

From Fr John Zuhlsdorf:WDTPRS’s favorite critic of the Holy See’s liturgical translation norms, His Excellency Most Reverend Donald W. Trautman, the outgoing Chair of the USCCB’s liturgy office has determined it best to issue his own norms for the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum in the Diocese entrusted to him by the Supreme Pontiff, the Successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ whose own provisions were published for the Universal Church in Summorum Pontificum.

Bishop Sheridan Would Not Permit Plan B in Catholic Hospitals

COLORADO SPRINGS, October 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan spoke with LifeSiteNews.com yesterday about the use of the morning after pill in Catholic hospitals...

Asked if he would forbid the pill to be administered even in cases of rape, Bishop Sheridan noted the uncertainty around the action of the pill and said, "My opinion on moral questions is to err on the side of safety, rather in the other direction."

Bishop Sheridan concluded, "How could you continue to call yourself Catholic if you were doing things that were contrary to Catholic teaching even if you were being forced by the state to do them."

The answer is, you can't... for Bishop Sheridan!

Pope Stresses Importance of Natural Moral Law

...[Pope] Benedict XVI indicated that the doctrine on natural law "achieves two essential aims: on the one hand, it makes it clear that the ethical content of Christian faith is not an imposition dictated from outside man's conscience, but a norm that has its basis in human nature itself; and on the other hand, by starting from the basis of natural law - which of itself is accessible to all rational creatures - it lays the foundations for dialogue with all men and women of good will, and with civil society more generally."

The Pope then highlighted the fact that nowadays "the original evidence for the foundations of human beings and of their ethical behavior has been lost, and the doctrine of natural moral law clashes with other concepts which run directly contrary to it. All this has enormous consequences on civil and social order." . . .

"If," he added, "by reason of a tragic clouding of the collective conscience, skepticism and ethical relativism managed to annul the fundamental principles of natural moral law, the very democratic order itself would be profoundly undermined at its foundations. Against such clouding - which is a crisis for human, even more than for Christian, civilization - the consciences of all men and women of good will must be mobilized, both lay people and followers of religions other than Christianity, so that together they may make an effective commitment to creating ... the conditions necessary for a full awareness of the inalienable value of natural moral law."

Calif. Catholic Daily: No cross-dresser left behind

Pelosi backtracks after homosexual groups cry foul over exclusion of transsexuals from bill barring employment discrimination

Connecticut Bishops Cave - Allow Plan "B" in Hospitals?

Catholic World News reports:

Hartford, Sep. 28, 2007 (CWNews.com) - After fighting against the passage of a new state law requiring hospitals to provide the "emergency contraceptive" Plan B pill to rape victims, the Catholic bishops of Connecticut have announced that Catholic hospitals will comply with the law when it goes into effect next week...

The bishops now say that ethicists are divided on the moral requirement for [administering an ovulation test first]. In their May letter to Governor Rell, they had argued that the requirement of an ovulation test was based on the "more probable teaching." The bishops now emphasize that the Church has not rendered a definitive judgment on that issue.

Why are some so willing so kill an innocent child? This is a law which should be fought! The shepherds, like the hired hands, have run off in fear!

*** UPDATE ***

In reviewing previous posts on this, I see that in April of this year, the Connecticut Catholic Bishops were already gearing up for this:

The Connecticut Catholic Bishops claim to oppose this law, but stated in a letter that "Catholic hospitals provide emergency contraception to rape victims in the vast majority of cases. In fact, it is an extreme rarity when this medication would not be provided."

And Thomas Peters has much more on this at American Papist here.

Missouri Abortion Clinic Law Unlikely to Be Ruled Unconstitutional

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — In an order issued Monday, a federal judge wrote that Planned Parenthood is not likely to succeed in having a Missouri law that holds abortion clinics to the same safety standards as other medical facilities ruled facially unconstitutional. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund represent Missouri Director of Health and Senior Services Jane Drummond in a lawsuit Planned Parenthood filed against the new state law, which the court has put on hold while both sides negotiate on some specifics as to how the law will apply.

“Abortion clinics should not be exempt from common-sense regulations that protect the health and safety of Missouri patients. We’re pleased that the court agreed with this and said that he did not believe Planned Parenthood would succeed in its arguments that the law is facially unconstitutional,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt...

Interestingly, the State has retained the services of ADF. Apparently, Missouri's Pro-Abort Attorney General Jay Nixon, wasn't up to the job of defending the State against Planned Parenthood.